Benni Hemm Hemm @ Mercury Lounge: Greetings

'That song was about snow and light, this next one is about hills'. Not your typical between-song stage banter, in the slightest. Last night marked (Iceland's own) Benni Hemm Hemm's first show this side of The Atlantic. And they were irrefutably glorious.

I've read that Benni Hemm Hemm's concerts can run the gamut between eleven and seventeen total members. At last night's gig, there were ten men on stage - 5 with varying brass instruments, one electric guitarist, one bassist, one drummer, one frontman with an acoustic guitar and one xylophonist with a few tricks up his sleeve (a la the triangle, a flute, an ultra-mini set of keys and a tambourine).

The band's 45-minute, 9-song set sounded like a crowded house party with all members of the following acts in attendance: Beirut, Sigur Ros, The New York Philharmonic, Sufjan Stevens, Stephin Merritt & Spiritualized. As you can imagine, the music was consummate, loud, triumphant and radiant all the same. I wanted the troupe to play into the wee hours.



Learn more about Benni Hemm Hemm (including a full list of each band member & English lyric translations!) here on the band's official site. Check out a stellar BHH MP3 below.

MP3: Benni Hemm Hemm - Skvavars